Halo: Fire of War
Prelude "The 26th Century has dawned. And with a new century comes new challenges, new conflicts. In the aftermath of multiple incidents in the 2490s, the Insurrection has come about, sparked by the nuclear fires of Far Isle, pledging to fight the UNSC. Some fight through battles against the UNSC itself, others through terrorism. No matter what happens, there is always conflict, for the fire of war can never be extinguished" Chapter 1: Fires of Freedom MOUT MAY 16TH, 2513 ELYSIUM CITY, ERIDANUS II, ERIDANUS SYSTEM 0942 HOURS "Incoming!", yelled Edward Monroe as another shell screamed into Elysium City, and hit near their position, showering them all with debris. Propping his HMG-38 on a barrier, Monroe provided suppressing fire on the UNSC as the rest of his unit retreated further towards the extraction point. "Estimates say less than an hour before we have to retreat! We need to get to the extraction point NOW!" yelled their unit commander over the din of battle raging throughout the city. "Covering fire!" unexpectedly bellowed their medic as he dashed from their cover. Letting loose with their weapons, bullets flew from both sides of street as the medic grabbed a wounded rebel fighter in a nearby, and started dragging him back to the rebels' position. Placing the fighter against the barrier the rest of the squad was hiding behind, the medic motioned to Monroe, "Get over here and help me out.", he ordered. Keeping his head down, he moved over to the medic's position, where he was trying to pull a chunk of shrapnel from a UNSC grenade from the rebel, who was letting out a blood curdling scream that overcame the steady fire between the UNSC and ELF. Yanking it out, the medic ordered Monroe to put pressure on the wound. Keeping his hand, covered with a hankerchief, firmly pressed on the wound, Monroe watched as the medic withdrew a canister of biofoam from his pack, and poured it into the wound. Nodding to Monroe, the medic continued his work as the former returned to his position at the barrier. "We need to get moving now!" screamed their unit commander over the gunfire, getting steadily louder as the UNSC approached their position. "Quinn, Williams, help the Corpsman with the wounded! Monroe, Roberts, provide covering fire!" As their other two squadmates and commander picked up the wounded, the latter two stood up and began firing. As they continued to retreat, Roberts' steady hail of bullets from his M262 was interrupted by the horrifying silence that came from the weapon. Trying to unjam the weapon, Roberts was shot through the neck by a UNSC sniper far down the street. Panicking, Monroe fired his HMG-38 in short bursts at the enemy, stopping only to switch out magazines, as the rest continued to move at an agonizingly slow pace to the Spades. As they piled into the trucks, Monroe manned the AIE-486H tribarrel machine guns bolted on the lead truck. As the trucks pulled away, driving at top speed to the extraction point, Monroe chambered a round, and began firing at any UNSC troops he saw, the 7.62mm rounds tearing through them. As the convoy continued driving, Monroe heard a scream from the driver of his Spade. "RPG!", the man had yelled. Sure enough, when he looked up, a UNSC trooper hefting a rocket launcher had taken up position, and was preparing to fire. Pivoting to turn his weapon towards the assailant, it was too late, and Monroe watched with horror as the rocket streaked towards the truck, before a wave of heat washed over him, and he blacked out. Awakening supine on the bed of another Spade, Monroe saw the medic over him. "He's alive, he's alive!", Monroe heard the medic cheer, faintly through the loud ringing in his ears. The medic took out yet another canister of biofoam, and Monroe felt a terrible prickling pain in his midsection. Looking around, he saw the convoy was finally out of the city, and still going. As the truck came to a halt, two rebel soldiers helped pick up the wounded Monroe. Grunting as he was helped to his feet, he saw the extent of his injuries. His entire lower midsection was covered in wounds and burns. As they boarded a Pelican, Monroe asked, "What the hell happened to me?". One of the rebels helping him aboard said, "You got caught up in the explosion and flames when that UNSC bastard fired his rocket. When we pulled you out, we thought you were a goner. Maybe that thick head of your's saved ya." Monroe began to chuckle at the man's jibe, but was cut off by a stabbing pain where the biofoam was. "Just get some rest. We're headed to the Gateway." Monroe, nodding, laid back and closed his eyes. Evac MAY 16TH, 2513 ERIDANUS II, ERIDANUS SYSTEM 1032 HOURS "This is the Jackson, we've been hit!" "Iliad, we're taking a pounding out here!" All across the Eridanus Liberation Front's radio networks, reports were being rattled off by ship after ship above Eridanus II. In the Iliad's command center, Insurrectionist commander Robert Watts, kicked off one of the bulkheads to get a better look at the situation on one of the monitors. UNSC ships were everywhere, rebel ships were scattering, firing missiles across the blackness of space, and in atmosphere, rebel troops were engaging in brutal fighting against UNSC forces that had just landed. Watching as an Archer missile nearly hit the Iliad, Watts knew the rebels had no way to win. "Order all groups to get the hell away from the engagement, and tell the ground troops to hold out and evac when they can!", he yelled. "Sir, Alpha Group is ready to enter slipspace." calmly responded one of his crew. At another station, a crewmember turned around, and frantically said to Watts, "Beta Group just sent out an emergency statement. The Gateway's slipspace drive won't engage. It's stranded." Turning from his console, Watts retorted, "Move us in closer to Beta, and tell them that we'll buy them some time to make repairs. Tell them we won't leave them behind, but they need to make it quick!" "Aye sir" the crewman responded. Looking around, Watts frantically searched for any way to give the Gateway cover while it made the necessary repairs. Out of one of the monitors, he spotted two Marathon Class Heavy Cruisers. All of a sudden, a realization dawned on him. "Ready towing cables." "Sir, it's suicide to tow a ship into slipspace." a crewman responded. "Tell Gateway we're buying them a few more seconds to fix their problem, but that's all we can do. The rest of Beta needs to go, now!" "Aye sir, readying towing cables." "Bring us down between the cruisers, ignore any warnings the ship is about to give you! Prepare to fire the cables on my mark." "Aye sir, tow cables ready to fire on your mark." "MARK!" ordered Watts as the cables shot from the frigate, and attached themselves to the Marathon Class. "Navigator, gun it!", he yelled. "Aye sir!" As the Iliad's engines screamed as it struggled to pull the Marathon Class, the cruiser's superstructure protested against the force being displaced on it. As it continued to bend, the structure eventually buckled, and the cruiser was split in two. "We're not out of the woods yet.", stated Watts. "Navigator, bring that wreckage around, and club that other hunk of titanium." "Aye sir, I recommend you hang onto something." Grabbing hold of a chair, Watts struggled to hang on as the navigator made the necessary maneuvers. Craning his head around to the rear cameras of the Iliad, he spotted the wreckage of one Marathon slam into the other in a fiery collision. As the ship righted itself, the center erupted in jubilation at the small victory. "Let go of the wreckage, and retract the tow cables." ordered Watts. "Aye sir." Turning his head to the Iliad's communications officer, Watts asked, "Is the Gateway ready?" Nodding his head in the affirmative, the officer confirmed it, "The Gateway has completed its repairs, and is ready to jump to the rendezvous point." "Roger that. Tell Gateway to depart, and let's get out of here." "Aye sir, engaging slipspace drive." As the frigate tunneled a hole into slipspace, it became surrounded by blackness, leaving the fiery battlefield above Eridanus II behind. After an unknown amount of time, the ship finally exited slipspace at the rendezvous point. Looking around at the rest of the rebel ships that had made it, Watts felt sick to his stomach. Some of the ships were missing massive chunks of hull, others venting atmosphere, and some being nothing but carcasses, towed by others. The Colonel valued the lives of his men, and this was something hard for him to witness, but it was the price of war. Getting on the armada wide communications channel, Watts stated, "All heavily damaged ships or evacuation ships with casualties have first priority to dock. Failure to comply with these orders will result in severe disciplinary action." As the ships continued their solemn procession into Secundus, he forced himself to watch, repressing the urge to turn away from the carnage that he could not escape. When all the ships with casualties aboard had landed, he gave the rest of the ships permission to dock. Once the rest had docked, Watts finally ordered the Iliad in. When the frigate was caught by the docking clamps, the asteroid's bay doors closed, and the atmosphere filtered back in. Disembarking from the ship, Watts saw the true horror of the Insurrection. ELF soldiers with gruesome wounds were being shuttled around on stretchers, some with missing limbs, others with their midsections torn open, being held together only with biofoam and their own will. Mustering up the courage, Watts went over to talk to one of the wounded. Walking over to one of the lone stretchers waiting to be taken by the medics, Watts saw a rebel soldier, his lower midsection covered in bandages and biofoam. The rebel opened his eyes, and attempted to sit up and salute. Watts put a hand on his shoulder. "At ease son." he said. The rebel looked up at the Colonel, and said to him, "Thank you sir, for saving us and the rest of the men aboard the Gateway". Watts nodded, and asked, "What's your name son?". The rebel responded, "Edward Monroe". Watts responded to him "Monroe, I don't leave my men behind to die. Now get some rest". "Sir.", the rebel responded, as he lay down and closed his eyes again. As he trudged up the stairs to his own apartment, Watts felt despair wash over him. If this was his first time losing a battle, how would he react as he inevitably lost them again and again to the UNSC? Raiding Four Years Later' SEPTEMBER 24TH, 2517 ERIDANUS SECUNDUS, ERIDANUS SYSTEM 0121 HOURS Inside his apartment, Colonel Watts looked over Secundus' array of advisors as they looked over his plan. Their eyes went wide as they saw what Watts planned to do. "Sir, this is suicide. We can't afford to risk losing you and the Iliad for some supplies." Watts retorted, "Right now, it's a matter of quite literal life and death for Secundus and its citzens. We're running out of provisions, and we need them desperately." "But if we lose the frigate, we will have no ship that is capable of truly defending the UNSC, and we'll have lost you as well." "It's a longshot, but we're running risks every day. This is one we cannot afford to deny simply for the sake of danger." "But sir..." "No buts about it. I am the commander of this station, and I say the raid goes! Understand again gentlemen, that if we do not launch this raid, Secundus may run out of provisions, and we'll be forced to surrender to the UNSC." The advisors, especially those who had defected to the rebels from the UNSC, mulled over in their minds the possibility of what would happen. Death for high treason, no doubt. Looking up from their reflection, they came to a consensus. The raid would go on. Once again in the Iliad's command center, readying for combat for the first time in nearly four years, Watts looked around again, impatient as they waited, staking out a known UNSC slipspace jump point. Chewing on his lip, Watts remembered the bloodbath that had been their retreat from Eridanus II when the UNSC faced them down. "And that was with odds in our favor", he thought to himself. If he had to endure yet another failure like that, and watch more of his own, including his wife, pregnant with child, die because of his failings, he planned to kill himself with his sidearm. But he was jarred out of these thoughts as the klaxons blared inside the center, indicating a nearby slipspace exit. "Navigator, what ship do we have in sight?" "One UNSC cargo vessel, hull name, Dartmouth. Sir, they must have sent out a distress call, I have a frigate, the UNSC Journeyman, bearing down on us! ETA is four minutes.", the crewman responded. "Oh boy, now we have a '''frigate' coming into the fray", Watts "Roger that. Take hold of her with the towing cables. We'll have to make this quick." "Aye, sir, towing cables released...and we have connection!" "Good." Getting on the ship wide intercom, Watts announced, "All boarding crews, commandeer the UNSC cargo ship!". Watching from one of the helmet cameras of one of the boarding crews, Watts watched as they quickly neutralized the small crew, and took command. Radioing to the rebels, he ordered, "Make a break for the asteroid field, we'll rendezvous there at the predetermined point!" Turning to his navigator, he bellowed, "Take us out of here, now!" "Aye, sir", the navigator responded, as the ship jumped to the coordinates Watts gave. After a few minutes of slipspace, the frigate exited in the safety of the asteroid field. Miraculously, Watts saw the ''Dartmouth very close to the frigate's position. Quick slipspace jumps were notoriously inaccurate, especially with a crew not completely trained. "Navigator, dock us with the Dartmouth.", Watts ordered as the two ships came closer and closer together, until they finally connected. With the two ships together, Watts went down to personally oversee, and congratulate, the transfer of supplies and boarding party, respectively. As he floated down in the zero G aboard the frigate, Watts saw crate after crate of supplies and provisions being loaded into the frigate, and lashed down to prevent them from moving around. Walking up to the leader of the raid, Watts shook his hand, saying, "Good work out there soldier. You may have just saved Secundus." "Thank you sir.", responded the leader. Floating back up to the command center, Watts ordered the ship back to Secundus. They had done it, against the odds, they had gotten the supplies. Secundus had been saved. Chapter 2: Loss Capture Eight Years Later SEPTEMBER 14TH, 2525 ERIDANUS SECUNDUS, ERIDANUS SYSTEM 1032 HOURS Watts knew this day would come at some point. Floors below, in the lobby that housed his apartment, they had lost contact with all of the armed guards. He knew the UNSC was coming for him. "You five". Watts pointed to five of his armed guards, and said, "Outside, stand guard. The UNSC is here." The five snapped crisp salutes, and filed out of the apartment. Grabbing an M6D from his table, Watts waited. He knew that if the five guards outside were taken down, the three with him would do little to nothing. And so Watts paced, for what seemed like an eternity. He waited, waiting for the shots to ring out. And, to his horror, the shots fired were not those of an HMG-38 that his guards used, but rather the crack of MA2Bs, and a high caliber sniper rifle. Soon after, five in black bodysuits stormed Watts' apartment. The time had come. Ducking behind the crate carrying the products he had requested, Watts' three guards opened fire, their HMG-38s raining hot shell casing down onto the floor, and Watts. Hearing one of the hostiles grunt, Watts soon saw his three guards drop dead on the floor. His time had come. Unholstering the M6D, Watts readied it as he began to yell at the operatives. As he prepared to fire his pistol, several MA2B rounds flew above his head. Ducking, Watts saw one with a pitch black 117 emblazoned on his chest, vault over his cover, break his finger, and grab him by the neck. As the man continued to squeeze, Watts struggled to stay conscious, before he finally blacked out. In his orange prison jumpsuit, Robert Watts was being escorted around the prison where he was kept as usual. For the last few years, Watts had been interrogated time and time again for information on the Insurrection. He assumed this little excursion was going to be no different. But something was wrong. The guards escorted him past the room where he was usually interrogated, and kept going. He was walked into a furnish less gray room, where he turned around, and saw seven men, armed with MA5B assault rifles. His time had finally come. As he was cuffed and blindfolded, Watts stayed silent. He knew his death was to come. His offense was high treason, and he never had a prayer of ever getting out. He hoped his son had survived the raid. The final sound Robert Watts heard was the crack of seven MA5Bs, before he was hit in the heart with seven 7.62mm, and died. His fight was over. Discovery Five Years Post Secundus Raid SEPTEMBER 14TH, 2530 ERIDANUS SECUNDUS, ERIDANUS SYSTEM 1352 HOURS "Sir!". An ELF officer, outfitted for combat with a green BDU blouse and trousers, CH200 Combat Helmet, combat boots, and an M6D strapped to the web belt on his waist, snapped to attention and saluted as a man with gray hair in a plain olive drab uniform upon which four silver stars gleamed on each shoulder epaulette in the artificial sunlight disembarked from a cargo ship in Secundus' space dock. As the officer returned the salute, Governor Jiles approached the man and greeted him. "General Graves, it is a pleasure to meet you.", he said. "And you as well Governor Jiles.", responded Graves. "What business do you have here General?" "One of my spies in the UNSC Navy has just discovered Colonel Watts was recently executed for high treason. I've come here to inform his wife and child of his death. Where do they live?" "They live in the main apartment building, the same place Watts lived when he was here. Would you like any refreshments General?" "No, I would not.", responded Graves. Jiles was likely going to try to butter him up and get more funds for himself. From rumors, he had heard Jiles was a very self centered man, and would not trust him with some pocket change. Leaving the docking bay, Graves strode through the streets of the city inside the asteroid, looking for Watts' apartment. Finding it, Graves entered the lobby, and asked the man at the desk where the Watts family lived. "Fifth floor, first door on the right as you leave the elevator.", the young man responded. Thanking him, Graves entered the elevator, and went up. Finding the door to the Watts' residence, it was obvious damage had been done years prior. On a nearby wall, there were patched up holes, and the door was completely new. Knocking, Graves was greeted by a woman with he brown hair tied up in a bun and bright blue eyes. "General Graves! What are you doing here today sir?", she said, almost snapping up a salute to him. "I'm here to inform you of something Mrs. Watts. May I enter?", he responded. "Yes, of course.", she said, as Graves walked in, and the two took a seat at the dinner table. "So what is it you wanted to inform me about?", she asked. Graves was struck dumb. He didn't know how to tell her that Robert had been executed. Choosing his words carefully, the General said, "Robert is..." At the mention of her husband's name, Jane's eyes went wide. She had not heard anything about him for almost five years, and still held out hope he was alive. "Robert is dead. He was executed by the UNSC recently. One of my spies relayed me this information." Watts' wife was silent, if only for a few seconds, before she broke down sobbing loudly. As he tried to comfort the grieving widow, Graves saw a young teenager with brown hair cut military style and brown eyes, no older than thirteen, come out of his room at hearing the noise. "Mom?" he asked with concern. "Mom, are you alright?", he asked, rushing over to her. "I just need a moment Jonathan. Go outside for a moment and talk with this man.", she responded through loud sobs. "Alright.", the young teenager said, as he and General Graves left the apartment, closing the door behind them. As they waited outside, the General extended his hand to the teenager. "General Howard Graves.", he said. Taking hold of it in a firm grip, the young man said, "Jonathan Watts, an honor to meet you General. Now, pardon me if I'm prying into something I should not be, but why is my mother breaking down all of a sudden?" Now Graves was stuck with the same dilemma as he was with Watts' wife. Choosing his words even more carefully this time, he said, "Your father passed away. He was executed by the UNSC." "But, but everyone I knew told me he was on deployment somewhere else." "I'm sorry son, but that was so they could try to buy time to maybe get the Colonel...your father, out alive." The junior Watts did not even respond to this, his hands trembling with rage rather than sadness. "Sir, who did this?", he asked, the calm words barely masking the teenager's near unconfined fury. "We shall find out. Come with me for a moment.", Graves responded. Following the General to one of the military buildings, the two were stopped by guards. Holding up his ID card, Graves was immediately let in, and the two sat down at a console. Typing in a search, Graves found the tapes from September 24th, 2525, and brought them to the time of Watts' capture. "This may be hard to watch. If you do not want to, you don't have to." said Graves. "I want to watch it, and see who took my father from a family.", responded the junior Watts. Graves nodded, and brought it to the time of Watts' capture. Seeing the operatives gun down rebels, the cameras eventually came into their apartment. Inside the apartment, Watts readied his pistol, before one of them leapt over, and choked him out, and another injected him with something, before stuffing him in a crate, and leaving. "There is also this.", Graves said, as he went to the perspective of Secundus' docks, which showed a massive explosion, allowing the operatives, who had entered a Pelican, to extract, but murdering hundreds of civilians. Graves looked over at Watts, who was very close to losing his cool, but to his credit, was able to keep it. The General then said, "This confirms my suspicions that the team that I have been planning to capture did this." Watts' eyes lit up. "You have a plan to take them down?", he asked. "Please, can I come along with you? I want to help take these fuckers down.", he continued. "No.", Graves responded. "Stay here, and fulfill what your father would have wanted you to, and become a leader. Make him and all those who knew him proud." Following Graves back to the apartment, the two entered. His mother had stopped sobbing, and was sitting there, now accepting of the fact. "I'll likely be back here after my operation. Until then, goodbye.", Graves said as he left the two alone. Sitting next to his mother, Jonathan hugged her in an attempt to continue comforting her. Standing up, she walked into her bedroom, and brought out a wooden box, and set it down on the table. "What did Graves tell you?", she asked. "He said to make dad and everyone who knew him proud.", he responded. "Then I think it's time you have this.", Jane said as she opened up the box, revealing an M6C/SOCOM. "This pistol was your father's. Now it's your weapon. Keep it, as a reminder of why you fight. Now, I have to get some rest.", Jane said as she left the room and went into her bedroom again, closing the door, leaving her son alone, as he looked over the matte black pistol. Deployment August 1ST, 2536 ERIDANUS SECUNDUS, ERIDANUS SYSTEM 0752 HOURS "I told you not to go!" Jonathan Watts pinched the bridge of his nose as his mother began another of her rants. Sighing, he responded, "You've known about this for months now. I love you, I do, but I can't just sit here on this asteroid.", as he continued to pack what few belongings he was bringing to Mamore with him into an olive drab pack. "Who says you can't stay?", his mother responded. "I say it. I'm not ending up like that piece of shit Jiles. Six years ago, Graves said to make him and everyone who knew him proud." "But you don't know how dangerous it is on Mamore!" "I don't care. I'm not going to stay here, grow old, and die knowing that I could have helped people be free, but didn't." Watts' mother sighed, "Alright. I can't stop you, but remember, I love you all the same." "I love you too mom.", Watts said as finished packing up, and hung his dogtags underneath his fatigue shirt and olive drab flightsuit. Giving his mother one last hug, he pulled on his black beret, and slung his pack over his shoulder. Walking out, his boots clicking on the tile floor outside the apartment, Watts strolled towards the elevator at the end of the hallway, taking note of the repaired sections of wall that had been damaged nine years before. Stepping into the elevator, Watts took it down to the lobby, a deathly silence inside the car, an abnormality considering how most days it was packed to the brim with human bodies. Moving through the lobby, he noted how empty it was as well, before going outside, shielding his eyes from the bright artificial light the base used. Continuing on, Watts looked around, smiling to himself as he heard the cries of children playing, remembering how much he had been like that years before. Approaching one of the entrances to the docks, Watts spotted two grizzled looking rebel commandos, decked out in a mishmash of black market equipment step inward, blocking his path. "Identification sir.", the one with a web of scars on his face said quickly. Unclipping one of his dogtags, he handed it to the man, who proceeded to scan the code on its underside in a nearby computer, which dinged happily. Handing it back to him, the man nodded, and both guards stepped aside, as Watts walked through, into the observation platform that overlooked the docks. Through the hundred or so craft in the dock, Watts spotted a dark, blocky ship, its form cloaked in shadow. Squinting a bit more, he was able to make out the shape of a UNSC frigate, the Iliad. Halting, Watts moved closer to the glass to get a better look at the ship, which was legendary to him. Concentrating on it, he saw glimpses of it, and that it was a sad shadow of its former self, having not seen use since 2517, and not having seen combat since 2513. There were gouges in the ship's hull, much of its armaments appeared to have been removed, and various other imperfections on the once great frigate. Shaking his head and sighing. This, all of it, he thought, was the handiwork of Jiles, the one person he despised almost as much as the UNSC. But he would be free of the man's influence soon enough. Continuing down the corridor, he looked at the various signs on each of the halls that branched off, until he came across his ship, the Potemkin, with two guards in front of it as well. Going through the same process he had earlier with getting into the docking bay, Watts clomped down the gun metal gray hallway, into the freighter. Looking over at the corkboard inside the freighter, he saw a piece of paper with the words, "Mark off your name and go to your cryo pod". Picking up a ballpoint pen, Watts placed a checkmark next to his name on the other piece of paper, and set it down. Continuing through the freighter, he followed the signs towards the cryo bay. Looking over the area, he saw there was more than just him going to Mamore. There were various others as well, something he did not know. Stripping off his clothes, Watts placed them in a nearby footlocker labeled "WATTS", and stepped into his pod. As the plastasteel front closed, Watts took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Chapter 3: Off to Hell First Day August 12TH, 2536 MAMORE, TRIPOLI SYSTEM 0342 HOURS "Wakey wakey Lieutenant Watts!" Jonathan Watts awoke with a start as his pod's door opened to the sound of a rebel cooing at him. Sitting up, he coughed once, only to have the standard nutrient paste fill his mouth. "Gah!", he managed to get out as the stuff came up. Leaning out, he spit it out on the deck, and looked around, trying to overcome the side effects of cryosleep, something he had never experienced. As his head finally cleared, Watts stood up, and walked over to his footlocker, shivering. Looking around, he saw that he was the last one to be awoken, and the rest of the crew were either dressed or in various stages of doing so. Pulling out his various clothing, Watts rushed to get them on, averting his eyes from the other unclothed rebels. Finishing getting his gear on, Watts rushed to catch up with the rest of the rebels, who had already begun to move down to the loading dock. Quickly bounding down the stairs, his boots clanged against the metal deck as he finally reached the rest, out of breath from his sprint. In front of all the rebels, there was the freighter's captain, with a clipboard. "Watts!", he barked, "This is your stop!" As the ship decelerated and came to a halt, the silence was broken by the hiss of the bay's ramp lowering. "Much luck to you Lieutenant.", the captain said as Watts started down the ramp, towards a Spade outfitted with an M262 machine gun, a ragged looking driver and gunner manning it. Climbing into the passenger seat of the truck, Watts sat down. The driver, who was at least fifteen years older than the Lieutenant, and clothed in civilian garb with some armor plates from an M87 BDU, looked quizzically over at the uniformed Watts, and burst out laughing. "Son, you're gonna learn quick not to wear a uniform here on Mamore. I don't know what outfit you're from, but here on Mamore, you don't wear a uniform unless you want to get shot.", he said as he hit the gas, and the truck lurched forward. Grabbing onto the rollcage, Watts attempted to keep himself inside the Spade, as the driver roared down a country road, bouncing around on the uneven terrain, which was pockmarked by shellholes. As the Spade came to a halt, Watts breathed a sigh of relief, and stumbled out of the truck, and once again, the driver and gunner burst out in laughter at his awkwardness. Following the two rebels, they approached an armored door built into the side of what looked to be a rocky hill, and the driver banged on it three times. A slit opened about three quarters up the door, and the man asked, "Password?". "Oh shut up Roberts, you know its me. We got our new advisor.", the driver responded. "Alright, just saying, it's protocol and all that good shit.", the man behind the door said as he opened the tan painted Titanium-A door. Walking inside, the driver motioned for Watts to go down the tunnel, and proceeded to walk back out to his Spade. As the door clanged shut, Watts began to walk down the tunnel, deeper into the base. Distracted by the sheer scale of the base, Watts bumped into a grim and dirt covered man who looked to be about his age. "Oh, sorry. I just don't know my way around this place.", Watts said. "It's fine sir. Are you our new advisor?", the man responded. "Yes, I am." "Right then. Then I'm your new crew chief. I'm Brandon Foster, nice to meet you...?" "Watts. I'm Lieutenant Jonathan Watts." "So...you're really Watts' kid?" "Goddamnit...no. I'm Watts. It's my name too, I'm not just his kid." "Alright, alright, no need to get hostile." "It's fine. You said you're my crew chief, right?" "Yes." "Well then, we got a bird?" "Yeah." "Well then, let's see it." "Right then. Follow me." As Foster began to walk deeper into the base, Watts followed him, until they halted at a thick door much like the one in the front of the base. Withdrawing a security card, Foster swiped it once, and the door swung open, as multiple lights came on inside the room. "Here she is.", Foster said as he motioned to the dropship tucked away in a corner. Squinting, Watts said, "That looks like a Pelican, but it seems...different." "It is. It's a new version we got the plans for. And you've been assigned to fly it.", Foster said, "...sir.", he added quickly. "Right then. When's our first mission?" "Tomorrow, sir, at five o clock in the morning." "Right then. Where're the dorms?" "Dorms?" "Like a barracks." "Erm...we don't really have those. Most people just sleep where their stuff is. Our cots are over there. You came from Jiles' cell right?" "Yes. Can't say I like the bastard." "Alright. You'll have to get used to quite a few things." "I'm sure.", Watts said as he trudged over to his cot, and began unloading his belongings, looking back at the odd seeming dropship, the aircraft that would be his vehicle to get back at the UNSC who killed his father. Explosive Rain R&R Category:Safe Havens